Relay For Life starts tomorrow

The 13th Relay for Life will kick off Friday at Island Grove Regional Park with the largest number of cancer surivors the event has ever had – and this time, the weather should cooperate.

“Two years ago, we got rained out like crazy, and we vowed that was going to be our only unlucky year, this will be lucky 13 no doubt, said Jared Fiel, chairman of the media committee with Relay For Life, a 16-hour walk to raise money for the American Cancer Society.

More than 800 survivors, a record number, will walk the track after the opening ceremony at 6 p.m. tonight, to pave the way for teams of walkers.

“The survivor lap is the one that connects everybody,” Fiel said. “Everyone has someone whose been touched by this disease.”

The fundraiser is one that have at least one member of every team walking at any given time for 16 hours. The number of teams is down this year – 169 vs. 198 last year – but organizers are not surprised given the state of the ecomony. Each team must raise at least $1,000, but many raise much more.